Motorists may have to pay congestion charge

Harman Sidhu, president, ArriveSafe, a city-based NGO on road safety, said the congestion charge will go a long way in reducing traffic jams and improve the environment of the city. “Congestion charge has successfully been introduced in many countries like Singapore and England,” he said.Vinod Kumar | TNN | October 26, 2017, 21:27 IST

The city has the highest density of vehicles in the country. On an average, each family in the city owns more than two cars, leading to a problem of parking in residential areas.Chandigarh: The Union ministry of urban development (MoUD) has asked the UT administration to work out congestion pricing — charging of a sum of money from motorists to enter designated roads in order to reduce traffic jams and pollution.

In a communication received on Tuesday, the ministry asked the administration to conduct a survey to identify congestion zones and work out the charges. The administration has been asked to hire a consultant. The ministry will provide the funds for the survey.

Harman Sidhu, president, ArriveSafe, a city-based NGO on road safety, said the congestion charge will go a long way in reducing traffic jams and improve the environment of the city. “Congestion charge has successfully been introduced in many countries like Singapore and England,” he said.

The administration will conduct a study of movement of different modes of transportation, including private vehicles, and record daily traffic composition at different locations, peak hour traffic composition, daily traffic volume, peak hour traffic and occupancy of fast passenger vehicles throughout the city.

Due to a poor public transport system, residents are forced to use personal vehicles for commuting within the city.

The city has the highest density of vehicles in the country. On an average, each family in the city owns more than two cars, leading to a problem of parking in residential areas.

The situation is worse in southern sectors. The ministry has also asked the administration to frame a parking policy. The high number of vehicles has made roads unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians.

In Chandigarh, there has been a rise in the number of deaths in road accidents — 700 died in last five years. As many as 121 people were killed this year so far. In 2016, 151 people were killed, while 129 died in 2015.

Over the years, the high number of vehicles in the city has led to deterioration of quality of air. Data compiled by Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) points out that the level of repairable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) has been recorded above the permissible limits, that is, 100 microgram per cubic metre (mcg/cu m).

High density of vehicles

The parking problem is grave in sectors 31 to 47 of Chandigarh, which has the highest number of registered vehicles (1.46 lakh), both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. This is followed by sectors 1 to 30, which has 1.14 lakh registered vehicles. In sectors 48 to 56, there are 34,976 registered vehicles.